Tropicalities

THERE are. now two Harold Coopers in the South Pacific: Harold Cooper, journalist, attached to the Informa tion Office, Suva, whose articles on the Pacific war have been appearing regu larly in this journal; and Harold Cooper, of Nelson & Robertson Pty., Ltd., Island merchants, Sydney, who was well known to all Papua-New Guinea, residents in the piping days of peace.

Maybe the Suva Mr. Cooper would be interested to know that at a recent New Guinea “do,” his Sydney namesake was approached by a Territorian and warmly congratulated on the “fine articles you are writing for the ‘PIM.’ ” The genial Harold (Sydney edition) denied the charge vigorously; but that makes the articles in question none the less fine.

These reports and sidelights on war in the Pacific seem to strike a much truer note than the stuff usually dished out by correspondents in this area. « “rjIHE radio informs us that certain JL newspapers in the States, on dull days, when the news is routine, fill their editorial columns with criticisms against General de Gaulle,” writes our Tahiti correspondent.

“The old proverb, ‘The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on,’ is very apt. Gen eral de Gaulle is the caravan.” ♦ A TAHITI resident writes in apprecia tion of the “PIM” and adds: “Espe cially do I value your sympathetic understanding of the problems of France.

The tendency in some quarters to ignore the great role France will play in the post-war world threatens a disservice to the unblemished harmony and under standing which must prevail among all democratic peoples in the fashioning of a Commonwealth of Nations.” * AN old friend of this journal, who has returned to Papua, describes the changes wrought by war among the natives, and says that even their vocabu lary has been enriched!

“The other night, out in the jungle, the mosquitoes came at us in swarms. One of my natives remarked. ‘My word, Tau bada, plenty night-fighters come out to-night.’ ” ♦ PAT on the back for ANGAU (Austra lian New Guinea Administrative Unit, in case you still don’t know).

A reader writes: “The Americans are, as you know, enthusiastic issuers of pam phlets—extremely well done, by the way, and by no means of the ‘How to know New Guinea in five easy lessons’ type— and one I saw lately ended, in large letters, ‘When in doubt, ask ANGAU.’ ” • IN October the editor of “PIM” increased the rubber production of Fiji to 131,294 tons, valued at £1,761,055! It was easily done. Intending to improve an article about Fiji production, the edi tor telephoned a few lines of latest statis tics received from Fiji from the editorial office to the printing office. The editor thought that the figures relating to sugar were called for. The man at the other end was talking in terms of rubber but knew nothing about Fiji rubber produc tion. So the Fiji sugar production in 1942 was given as rubber production— with fantastic effect. The par met the friendly but unbelieving eye of Mr. F. C.

T. Lord, formerly of the CSR Co., Ltd., who writes: “I know the little planta tions at Waidoi and Lami and I doubt if

they could produce 131,294 pounds of rub ber —much less that number of tons.”

We agree and apologise for the error— which, fortunately, was obvious. Accord ing to the Fiji Director of Agriculture’s report, export of rubber from the Colony in 1942 was 208,685 pounds, valued at £20,000. * RAY PARER is at it again! He has given up his wine and grocery business in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, to become a licensed fisherman. Consider able surprise was felt by Territorians last year when the senior member of the Parer clan gave up adventure to enter suburban business. Visitors to the Parer grocery establishment reported that the place to find Ray was not in the shop— but in the backyard behind it, tinkering with some sort of engine.

A six inch picture of him, at the wheel of his 40 ft. launch, appeared in a Sydney newspaper in February—the same old Ray in his usual uniform of khaki shorts and shirt. He says he is only practising as yet, and that all he has caught up to date is a six-inch leatherjacket. When he knows a bit more about the fishing business he in tends to obtain a trawler for deep-sea fishing. He says that he is going to take his boat back to New Guinea after the war for use' as an inter-island trader. * ANOTHER ex-Papuan resident has made the news. Port Moresby people who, for four or five years, knew Squadron-Leader Reginald Stevens, DFC, as a clerk in the Government Stores, were recently surprised and inter ested to see him billed in a Sydney news paper photograph as “Sydney man wipes out gun-crew.” He is a bomber pilot in the Mediterranean, and he liquidated the crew of an enemy gun-post which opened fire on an air-sea rescue plane which was trying to pick up a pilot who had been shot down off the Sicilian coast. ♦ ELSEWHERE in this issue there is published a statement by New Guinea Goldfield’s chairman of directors, Mr. J. Kruttschnitt, that, on reliable information, quantities of gold have been smuggled out of New Guinea by soldiers. Starred in a Sydney “Bulle tin” feature, “The .Other Fellow’s Mind,” on February 9, is a letter from a mem ber of the RAAF. Thus:— “In a forward valley where the kunai hides the jeeps and the air throbs with the continuous traffic of aircraft, there are some cobbers of mine who, among

their lesser souvenirs, cherish a few gold studded pellets.

“Tuning into the national news the other night we heard a wail from the manager or president or something of New Guinea Goldfields, who wants mea sures passed forbidding returned men to sell gold, and further whimpers that ‘no civilian has been allowed in the opera tional area to protect the company’s in terests.’ ”

Pathetic, of course, but it is doubtful if New Guinea Goldfields, Ltd., are hav ing heart-burnings about his cobber’s few gold-studded pellets—they expressly said “quantities” of gold. If, however, the RAAF is producing men who regard gold as among their “lesser souvenirs,” that is news! Gold has a way with it; and few men can resist either the sight of it, or the promise of it. The Army some time ago reminded its men of the laws of Papua and New Guinea, which prohibit people from fossicking without a miner’s right, taking gold from another person’s property, having gold in their possession, or attempting to export it.